Data Protection and Privacy Policy
HotStock.io ("HotStock," "we," " us," or "our") takes the private nature of your information very seriously. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We strive to be transparent about how we collect and process your information, keep your information secure and provide you with meaningful choices. This policy regarding our privacy practices (the "Privacy Policy") describes how we treat the information we collect or receive when you visit and use hotstock.io (the "Site") and/or HotStock's other domains, products, advertising products, services, and/or content, including our iOS and Android mobile applications (collectively with the Site, the "Services").
Although we will do our utmost to protect your information, we cannot guarantee the security of the data you submit to our website or our app; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures to try to prevent unauthorised access.
We will never pass on personal information about you unless we are legally obliged to do so. We will never use any of your data in ways that have unjustified adverse effects on you.
What This Privacy Policy Covers
This Privacy Policy covers our treatment of information gathered when you are using or accessing the Services. This Privacy Policy also covers our treatment of any information about you that our partners share with us or that we share with our partners.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of third-parties that we do not own, control, or manage, including but not limited to any third-party websites, services, applications, or businesses ("Third-Party Services"). While we try to work only with those Third-Party Services that share our respect for your privacy, we don't take responsibility for the content or privacy policies of those Third-Party Services. We encourage you to carefully review the privacy policies of all Third-Party Services you access.
This Privacy Policy also does not govern what our users post on our comments and we aren't responsible for the information collection and use practices of users.
What We Collect and How We Use It
In the course of providing the Services, we collect and receive various types of information. Certain categories of information collected by HotStock are necessary to use our Services. In order to deliver, personalize, and improve our Services, we combine and use the information we have about you (including information we receive on and off our Services) to understand how you use and interact with our Services and the people or things you’re connected to and interested in. We describe these types of information and their uses in more detail below.
We mainly rely on three separate bases to lawfully collect and use your information.
First, we need to process your information in certain ways to provide our Services to you, in accordance with our Terms of Service. This processing is necessary to perform the contract between you and us and our Terms of Service make it clear that processing of your information for the purposes of personalized content and ads is a necessary part of the Services which we provide.
Second, where you have given us consent to use your information in certain ways, we will rely on your consent (which you may revoke at any time).
Third, as described in more detail below, in certain cases we may process your information where necessary to further legitimate interests, whether ours or those of visitors, users or partners, where those legitimate interests are not overridden by your rights or interests.
Occasionally, HotStock may rely on other legal bases to process your information, such as to protect your vital interests or those of others (such as where there is a risk of imminent harm), where necessary in the public interest, or to comply with a legal obligation, a court order, or to exercise and defend legal claims.
Account Information: When you create an account on the Services (an "Account"), we’ll ask you for information such as your username, password, and email address ("Account Information") in order to provide you with the Services. We may also use Account Information, alone or together with other information, to enhance and improve the Services, such as by personalization. We use your email address to verify your Account and to communicate with you, as described in more detail below. Your username can also be used to log in. However, when you post a public comment, only your username is shared with others. We recommend not using sensitive information when creating usernames, you’re responsible for ensuring you keep your sign in information private.
Email and Notification Communications with Us: As part of the Services, you may occasionally receive email and other communications from us. Administrative communications relating to your Account (e.g., for purposes of Email verification, Account recovery or password reset) are considered part of the Services and your Account, which you may not be able to opt-out from receiving. If you opt-in to receive alerts for a specific product, we may also send you notification emails, browser notifications and/or phone notifications, when it comes back in stock. You can opt-out of receiving these via the "Unsubscribe" link in the email itself; selecting the "Watching" button on the product page or, by clicking the "Unsubscribe" button on the website. Note that we will never email you to ask for your password or other Account Information; if you receive such an email, please forward it to us.
We send two kinds of email: alerts once your chosen product comes back in stock, and ones with important information about your account. You can opt out of the former yourself, but not the latter. If you wish to delete your account entirely, select 'Delete user account' from the Contact us page and we will remove all of your data from the system.
Information about Your Accounts on Third-Party Services: You can choose to link your Account to certain Third-Party Services. In order to do so, you can choose to provide us with your username or other user ID for a Third-Party Service, and you may then be required to log into that Service. After you complete this login process, we will receive a token that allows us to access your account on that service so that we can, for example, post your content to that service when you ask us to. We do not receive or store your passwords for your Third-Party Service accounts.
Information Obtained from Third-Party Services: In some cases, we partner with Third-Party Services that may provide information about you. Such information could include, for example, your gender, if you have disclosed that information to that third-party and made it available for HotStock to access or receive it. To the extent we obtain such information, we may use it to develop new Services or to improve or enhance the Services.
When you connect other services to your HotStock account, those services might share information about you with us. What gets shown to us is determined by their privacy policies, which are often long and boring, but which you should probably read if you have questions or concerns.
Native Actions and content: By default, all of your information, including which products you are watching, are not shared with other users – they are private to you. If you post a comment, your username (together with your comment itself) is publicly visible in the comments thread. Published comments are accessible to everyone, including search engines, and this may affect the control you have regarding that content. In addition, information shared publicly may be copied and shared throughout the Internet.
Information Related to Use of the Services: We collect information about how people use the Services, including those with an Account. This type of information may be collected in our log files each time you interact with (i.e., make a request to) the Services. We use internal tools and third-party applications and services (like Google Analytics) to collect and analyse this information. Some of this information may also be associated with the Internet Protocol Address ("IP Address") used to access the Services; some may be connected with your Account; and some may only be collected and used in aggregate form (as a statistical measure that wouldn’t identify you or your Account). We use this information to maintain a safe environment for our users. We may also use this information for a number of things generally related to enhancing, improving, protecting, and developing new Services, including but not limited to: providing users with personalized content; providing users with targeted advertising; improving our search results; identifying trending or popular content; fighting spam, malware, identity theft and generally keeping our users and community safe; and for legal and safety reasons as set forth in "Information Disclosed for Our Protection and the Protection of Others".
We use information about how you interact with HotStock in order to personalize it for you, to keep both you and our community safe from harm, and to improve HotStock for everyone who uses it.
Information Related to Your Web Browser: We automatically receive and record information from your web browser when you interact with the Services, such as your browser type and version, what sort of device you are using, your operating system and version, your language preference, the website or service that referred you to the Services, the date and time of each request you make to the Services, your screen display information, and information from any cookies we have placed on your web browser (as described below). We use web browser-related information to provide, secure, enhance and improve the Services.
Location Information: In some cases, we collect and store information about where you are located, such as by converting your IP Address into a rough geolocation. We may use location information to improve and personalize the Services for you, for example by showing you relevant local content. This location information is used to determine which "hot products" to display and index – we don’t want to display European products to you if you are based in the US, for example.
Information Related to Your Mobile Device: We may collect and store information related to your mobile device. In some cases, we may receive, generate, or assign your mobile device a unique identifier for the purposes described above in "Information Related to Use of the Services".
Websites use cookies to make the browsing experience more efficient, and to help you use websites to their full potential. They help you to personalise your experience with our site, allowing you to fully engage with HotStock’s features. Our cookies enable you to watch specific products for stock, be alerted when there’s new stock, customise your alerts, comment, like, and stay signed in while you browse the site. They also ensure your registration process is as efficient as possible; we use cookies as a way to authenticate you as a registered user, allowing you to fully personalise your user profile and settings, including the local location of products. They allow us to track affiliate activity. Some merchants pay commission when you go to their site from HotStock.
Our cookies do not share any of your personal data with us, and we would never use any information derived from cookies to try to identify anybody. By using HotStock, you agree to the guidelines set out in this Privacy policy. If you want to find out more about cookies or if you want to know how to delete or control the cookies that are stored on your computer you can visit AboutCookies.org
A web tag is code or a pixel embedded in a web page, or email, that allows HotStock or a third-party to see that you have looked at that page. We use cookies and web tags to enable our servers to recognize your web browser and tell us how and when you use the Services, as described above in "Information Related to Use of the Services." Our cookies do not, by themselves, contain information that directly identifies you, and we don't combine the general information collected through cookies with other such information to tell us who you are. However, similarly to many websites, we do use cookies to identify that you have logged in, and that your web browser has accessed the Services, and we may associate that information with your Account if you have one. We may also store unique or near-unique identifiers that we associate with your Account in our cookies. This information, in turn, is sometimes used as described above in "Information Related to Use of the Services". Most web browsers have an option for turning off the cookie feature, which will prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, as well as (depending on the sophistication of your web browser) allowing you to decide on acceptance of each new cookie in a variety of ways. If you disable cookies, you won't be able to log into your Account, and so won’t be able to be alerted when a product is in stock or use the vast majority of our Services; as such, we don't recommend disabling your cookies when using the Services. Some services that we use (including Third-Party Services), such as Google Analytics, use web tags and may also place their own cookies on your browser, and individual blogs on our network may contain code that places their own cookies. We also run limited-time studies using web tags, sometimes with third-parties, to, for example, measure the effectiveness of our advertising or email. Note that, unless otherwise disclosed, this Privacy Policy covers our use of cookies only and does not cover the use of cookies by third-parties.
Being able to log into your account is one of HotStock’s many great features. Cookies make this possible. Cookies and web tags also let us learn how people use HotStock, which in turn helps us make a better product for you to use.
Derived Information: As described above in "Native Actions and content" and "Information Related to Use of the Services", we analyse your actions on the Services in order to derive or infer characteristics that may be descriptive of your Account (for example, what kinds of products you view and are interested in). We use this information for the purposes described in "Information Related to Use of the Services" above.
With Whom Your Information Is Shared
We never share information we receive from you unless: (a) we have your permission to share that information, such as to provide the Services that you have requested (including when you connect with Third-Party Services); (b) we have given you prior notice that the information will be shared, and with whom (such as in this Privacy Policy); or (c) that information is aggregate information or other information that does not identify you. You confirm that you have all appropriate consents and authorisations to upload and share third-parties' personal information and where relevant to contact (and for HotStock to contact on your behalf) such third-parties.
Information Shared with and Received from our Affiliates: When you choose to click through to a product store to purchase an item, we do not track, monitor, nor record any information you supply to the store – such as the login credentials you provide to them, your delivery address, or payment details that you may choose to provide to them when purchasing a product.
HotStock helps you find stores that have stock and provides you with a quick link to the store’s product page; we don't monitor what you do when you are there.
Information Shared with the Public Through the Services: As noted in "Native Actions and content" above, by default, all of your information, including which products you are watching, are private to you. If you post a comment, your username (together with your comment itself) is publicly visible in the comments thread. Because this kind of information can be seen by anyone and may be indexed by search engines, you should be careful about what you choose to disclose publicly and make sure it’s information you want to share with everyone.
Information Shared Between the Services: We may, if possible, aggregate information about your use of multiple Services and use that consolidated information to enhance and improve the Services, and to develop new Services.
Information You Share with Third-Party Services: You may access Third-Party Services through the Services, for example by clicking on externally-pointing links. You may also choose to share information that you provide to us, with those Third-Party Services (for example, by sharing a post to Twitter or Facebook). This Privacy Policy only governs information we collect and you are responsible for reading and understanding those Third-Party Services' privacy policies.
Information Shared to Third-Party Services in Order to Operate and Improve the Services: In some cases, we share information that we store with third-parties, such as service providers, for the purposes of operating, enhancing, and improving the Services, and developing new products and services. For example, we may share your email address with a third-party email distribution service in order to be able to notify you when stock is available. These service providers are generally bound by confidentiality obligations and, unless we tell you differently, they do not have any right to use information we share with them beyond the scope and duration of what is necessary to assist us.
Information Disclosed Pursuant to Business Transfers: In some cases, we may choose to sell business assets. In these transactions, user information is typically one of the transferred business assets. Moreover, if we, or substantially all of our assets, were acquired, or if we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, user information would be one of the assets that is transferred or acquired. Such transfers may occur and may be in the legitimate interests of the parties involved. After such transfers, the acquirer of us or our assets may continue to use your Information as set forth in this policy.
Should we happen to get acquired or go out of business, the transfer of assets from us to our buyer may very well include user information. They are allowed to use it only in the ways outlined here, in the Privacy Policy you are reading right now.
Information Disclosed for Our Protection and the Protection of Others: We believe in freedom of expression, and, to the extent reasonable, we try to protect our community from baseless legal demands. That said, we also reserve the right to access, preserve, and disclose any information as we reasonably believe is necessary, in our sole discretion, to (i) satisfy any law, regulation, legal process, governmental request, or governmental order, (ii) enforce this Privacy Policy, our Terms of Service , and any other agreements we have with you, including investigation of potential violations hereof, (iii) detect, prevent, investigate or otherwise address fraud, security, trust and safety, or technical issues (including exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of improving security and preventing fraud, spam, and malware), (iv) respond to user support requests, or (v) protect the rights, property, health or safety of us, our users, any third-parties or the public in general, including but not limited to situations involving possible violence, suicide, or self-harm.
We do need to protect everyone who uses HotStock from harming us, each other, or themselves. We work hard to protect your privacy, and we’re sure you can appreciate the seriousness with which we take those challenges.
Information We Share with Your Consent or at Your Request: Without prejudice to your rights mentioned below, if you ask us to release information that we have about your Account, we will do so if reasonable and not unduly burdensome.
Information Shared with Other Third-Parties: We may share or disclose public, aggregate or depersonalized information with people and entities that we do business with.
Security and Retention of Your Information
Protecting our systems and our users' information is paramount to ensuring HotStock users enjoy a secure user experience and maintaining our users' trust.
Your Account Information is protected by a password for your privacy and security. We may enable additional security features in the future, like multi-factor authentication. You need to prevent unauthorized access to your Account and information by creating a unique, secure, and protected password and limiting access to your computer and browser by signing off after you have finished accessing your Account on the Services.
HotStock will retain your information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, for as long as your HotStock account is active or as needed to provide you with the Services. If you no longer want HotStock to use your information to provide you with the Services, you can choose the ‘Delete user account’ option on our Contact us page to close your account, and HotStock will delete the information it holds about you unless we need to retain and use your information to comply with our legal obligations, to resolve disputes, to enforce our agreements or as otherwise permitted by law.
You can delete any posts you make on HotStock at any time. You are wholly responsible for what you post in the comments. We advise against posting personal information or pictures or anything that could identify you as an individual on HotStock. We recommend not using sensitive information when creating usernames, you’re responsible for ensuring you keep your sign in information private.
It’s really important that you have a unique password for all of your accounts on the internet, including your HotStock account. If you have trouble remembering passwords then you might consider using a service like 1Password or LastPass.
Legitimate Interests
HotStock may use your information to provide, improve and customize our Services and the ads and content which we serve to you. This may include the sharing of your information for such purposes and we do so as it is necessary to pursue our legitimate interests and your legitimate interests in receiving personalized content and services. Using and sharing your information for such purposes is also necessary to enable us to pursue our legitimate interests of understanding how our Services are being used and of developing ways to change our Services so they are more exciting and interesting for you and other users. Using your information for the reasons described in this Privacy Policy is also necessary to allow us to pursue our legitimate interests of improving our Services, obtaining insights into usage patterns of our Services, efficiency and interest of our Services for users.
We may also use your information for safety and security purposes, including the sharing of your information for such purposes and we do so as it is necessary to pursue our and your legitimate interests of ensuring the security of our Services, including enhancing users’ protection against harassment, IP infringement, spam and crime and security risks of all types.
You have the right to object to any of this processing and if you want to object please contact HotStock help.
What Information You Can Access
If you are a registered user, you can access most information associated with your Account by logging into the Services and viewing which alerts you have enabled for each product by navigating through the products list. We will only send you a stock alert when your chosen product is stock. You can choose which products you wish to be notified of by navigating to the product and selecting the Alert Me button. You can just as easily stop alerts by selecting the same button. Registered and unregistered users can access and delete cookies through their web browser settings.
How to Delete Your Account and What Happens When You Delete Your Account: If you want to delete your Account, you can either choose the ‘Delete user account’ option on our Contact us page to close your account, or by emailing us and providing proof of authority over the Account. What constitutes "proof of authority" will vary depending on the circumstances, but generally will require sufficient identifying information so that we can be confident you are the Account owner. In addition, given the nature of sharing on the Services, some of the public activity on your Account prior to deletion (such as any public comments you’ve made) may remain stored on our servers and accessible to the public.
We hope you'll enjoy using HotStock, but if it ever comes time to say goodbye, then you’re free to delete your account at any time and for any reason. The deletion will be effective within 24 hours, for the most part, but it might take a little while to scrub everything from our archives and backups.
Privacy Rights
HotStock is the data controller of your information. You have a number of rights and choices regarding the use of your information.
Access and Porting. As described in the section ‘What Information You Can Access’, you can access much of your information by logging into your HotStock account. If you require additional access or if you do not have a HotStock account, contact us to request a copy of your information. Where legally required, we can provide your information in an easily accessible format and assist in transferring some of this information to third-parties.
Rectify, Restrict, Limit, Delete. You can also rectify or delete much of your information by logging into your HotStock account. If you cannot do this, please contact us. For more information on deleting your account or leaving HotStock, please refer to the section 'How to Delete Your Account'.
Object. In certain circumstances, such as those described in the ‘Legitimate Interests’ section above, you also have the right to object to the processing of your information by us. In such cases, we will cease processing your information unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue processing or where it is needed for legal reasons. Where we use your data for direct marketing purposes, you can always object using the unsubscribe link in such communications, choosing ‘Unsubscribe’ on the website, or by contacting us.
Revoke consent. You have the right to withdraw your consent to our processing of your information and your use of our Services at any time. Similar to the way in which you can give consent by interacting with our Services, you can also withdraw your consent through our Services. You can choose to stop watching certain products, or delete your HotStock account entirely, as described above.
If you withdraw your consent to the use or sharing of your information for purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, you may not have access to all (or any) of our Services and we might not be able to provide you all (or any) of the Services under this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service. In certain cases, we may continue to process your information after you have withdrawn consent if we have a legal basis to do so of if your withdrawal of consent was limited to certain processing activities. For example, we may keep information data if we need to do so to comply with a legal obligation.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example, to comply with legislative changes, so we recommend checking it occasionally.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns regarding privacy using the Services, please contact us here.